Fitness personality Joe Wicks has stated that his regular exercise routine is crucial for managing stress and avoiding 'shouting and screaming' at his four young children. Wicks, 40, has spoken candidly about his fears of becoming 'aggressive' like his own parents, whose struggles with addiction and mental health issues profoundly impacted his childhood.

He explained that exercising each morning before his children wake helps him to remain a 'calm dad.' Wicks has four children with his wife, Rosie: Indie, eight; Marley, six; Leni, four; and Dusty, two. He emphasizes that exercise is primarily about mental health, aiming to boost mood, confidence, and energy, which in turn supports his role as a patient parent.

"If I didn't exercise, I would be like my mum – she screamed at me and shouted at me and slammed doors," Wicks stated. "I'd be like, my dad, I'd be aggressive."

Wicks has been open about his father's history with heroin addiction and his mother's severe mental health challenges, including OCD and eating disorders. In a 2022 BBC documentary, "Joe Wicks: Facing My Childhood," he detailed the emotional toll of witnessing his father's drug abuse, recalling his father's use of coded language like "going to the shop for milk" as a signal for obtaining drugs.

He also shared how, as a child, he used exercise as a coping mechanism to de-stress from the atmosphere at home, noting that physical education was the only subject he looked forward to because it helped him focus. Wicks believes that the message of exercise's benefits for mental well-being should be widely shared, especially by those with a public platform.

In addition to his parenting insights, Wicks recently revealed that he is experiencing a period of low self-confidence regarding his own body image. He attributes this partly to the constant exposure to curated fitness content on social media, which often features individuals using performance-enhancing substances. This has led him to question his own physique despite his consistent training regimen.

"I'll be honest with you, like right now, at this moment in my life, I'm 40 years old, and I've got the lowest self-confidence in my body ever," Wicks admitted. He cautioned against internalizing unrealistic ideals of health and fitness often presented online, emphasizing the importance of focusing on fundamental pillars like sleep, exercise, and nutrition.